Cooling Flames
by ScytheReaper
Summary: A team defeated… No, not defeated. Destroyed. Shredded. Broken beyond repair by the forces of evil. This is… was, team RWBY. A very dark story. It has its rating for a reason, and that is violence, allusions to severe criminal activity, character death ad other things. Why oh why, did I write this? Read, enjoy and review as necessary.
1. Chapter 1

Cooling Flames part 1

Fading Light…

**Man, I changed my writing style a lot for this. I was going to make a bundle of one shots and include this, but I then realised the rating would have to go immediately all the way up to M.**

**And M rated stories are, by default, not shown to everyone. **

**NOTE: I separated this into multiple parts due to how long this one section is.** I am also ashamed at how dark I made this...****

Present

_Flashback (I am using Word so it might not keep the italics. Just warning you all. And please, tell me if they don't appear so I can work out another way to separate the sections.)_

**Without further ado, the first chapter:**

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><p>Darkness. Pure, cool, all-embracing darkness. I can't hear, see, touch, taste, smell; Nothing. Until reality crashes down on me that is. My head hurts; I have itches and stinging sensations all over my frame. Something has happened.<p>

My eye opens, shutting immediately when I cringe away from the bright fluorescent lamp inches above my head. I'm in a chamber with a chipped and stained concrete floor…

Wait… Eye? Singular?

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><p><em>The hand lifts My Face off the ground, holding it by the left side, turning it towards the shadowy figure above me. Their eyes are like coals burning into my own lilac pair. The hand tightens its grip momentarily, and My Face burns before I see no more.<em>

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><p>"Ahh, look who we have here." A voice, smooth as honey and sickly sweet, echoes around the dark room, "You have caused us quite a large amount of trouble, Miss Xiao-Long. I am so VERY glad to finally make your acquaintance outside of our little spats."<p>

My limbs are bound to a metal chair-like structure on a wall. I can't move my arms and I'm too tired to try.

Raising my head is an arduous task; it takes me several tries before it raises enough for me to see something other than my own chest, my shirt looking like it was put through a food processor. I drag my tongue across my parched lips while studying my surroundings, swallowing as I see a single figure cloaked in shadow before me until my muscles give out and my chin collides violently with my collarbone.

Shadows, just shadows surround me; No illumination other than the lamp above my head. Why am I even here?

I hear a laugh before realizing that I must have thought out loud, voicing my confusion to my captor, before my blurry vision is filed with more gloom.

* * *

><p><em>Professor Ozpin is pacing to and fro before us; Beacon academy's famed Team RWBY. He's speaking, but it sounds garbled, as if I'm hearing it underwater.<em>

"_This mission will have dangers, and as such, you and your team will suffer no consequences if you decide to abstain from your task." The green clad professor stopped directly in front of us, adjusting his glasses slightly and looking each one of us in the eye before continuing; first My Little Sister, then My Friend Weiss, My Partner… Blake, and finally Me…_

"_You are simply to observe the movements of Roman Torchwick's men, supplies, and, if you can, Cinder Fall herself. You are not to engage unless the entire mission has failed with no chance of escape." _

_The Headmaster took a sip of his coffee._

"_Good Luck…"_

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><p>"…You'll need it."<p>

I awake with a gasp, drawing air into my lungs, coughing violently as I inhale some of the water soaking the rag over my mouth.

"That's enough. You may depart."

The faceless person beside me removes the pungent cloth, snapping to attention at The Voice's command before disappearing into the shadows.

My limbs are still bound, my left eye still blind. But now I can move my head. I glare straight ahead trying to murder whoever imprisoned me with piercing daggers. I'm taken by surprise when I feel a petite hand painfully caress my empty left eye-socket.

They raise a student's scroll in front of me, Weiss' scroll. Playing on its screen is a video of Headmaster Ozpin's mission briefing. Trust The Princess to take notes on everything.

"I trust your mission went well, Little Sun Dragon?" The voice inquires sadistically.

I can't answer, I can only stare.

There's an Impact on the right side of my face; a blazing backhand causing tears to appear in my eye and empty socket.

"Answer me!" the Voice is no longer soft, melodic. It is a well of unimaginable wrath, fury and hate.

I manage to find my voice, as small and raspy as it is.

"Who?" My voice is quivering. I swallow in an attempt to steady it before following with "Why?"

A laugh starts beside me, echoing of unseen walls until I feel that the very world is mocking me.

"You know why, and you should know the who."

With a clicking of glass heels on concrete, my captor is finally revealed: she's in a beautiful red dress, short enough to reveal a garter on one side, the sleeves flowing down her supple arms before attaching on her middle fingers. Her hair is voluminous and a wonderful colour while her eyes are burning with an evil yet playful air.

"Cinder Fall" My voice has changed from its terrified whimper and now is an angered growl.

The horrible excuse for a woman bows sardonically.

"Yes, that's me, but there are others who would yet like to speak with you _just_. _As. Much. As. Me._ I do believe you know them." She purred, her eyes scanning my body like a predator.

She moves to my left, beckoning to someone outside of my circle of light. A shoe enters slowly, followed by another, then the trailing edges of a white coat that has seen better days. The rest of the man's body follows, his face remaining outside of my view.

I open my mouth to speak before he pulls violently on a previously unseen cord in his hand. A wide metal trolley on wheels rolls up beside him and I can do nothing but retch onto my own lap before fainting at the horrific scene before me.

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><p><em>I couldn't beat him. I'm lying on the ground with a hole in my stomach. Blake is already down too and Ruby is still fighting the masses of gang members; it's up to Weiss now.<em>

_I can see her faintly, still fighting with Emerald, the duellers both unleashing a flurry of blows at one another. Weiss spins suddenly, Myrtenaster knocking Emerald's twin blades aside. Plunging her own blade into the ground she uses it to swing her legs around and deliver a vicious booted kick to the one-armed fighter. Before the other girl can recuperate, the Heiress' hands are both on her weapon's hilt and a spike of ice is through her opponent's heart. Emerald gasps once, blood bubbling from her mouth while her body slowly slides down the piercing pillar, coming to a rest on the ground._

_My heart soars; she might pull it off. But my cheer catches in my throat when a sparkling projectile explodes on top of her. _

"_NO!" The silent scream reverberates in my skull, only to stop when a blur of white bounced up from the explosion and off several glyphs before landing a few metres from the blast. _

_Weiss is hurt, that's obvious when she drops onto all fours, chest heaving. My vision is fading and narrowing; I know I can't get out. I need to tell her to get Ruby and run._

"_Weiss!" I rasp out, "Fall back; Blake and I are done."_

_She turns towards me, ice blue eyes open in concern. She dropped her guard; she is VULNERABLE._

_My decreased vision doesn't even see the hit until it contacts Weiss; her small form thrown metres from her previous position. Roman walks up with his laugh chipping away at my sanity through my eardrums._

_No,nononono; this can't be happening. She needs to escape. I turn my head, scraping it on the hard ground to desperately see Weiss' triumphant comeback. And I do. She flies at Roman, opening up a large cut on his chest and scorching his jacket. They engage in a strange sort of fencing match between cane and blade. _

_Weiss scores a few more hits resulting in a flambéed coat before the battle changes for the worst. Roman stabs his cane directly towards Weiss' face, punctuated by a shot. I hold my breath in horror as the tiny girl arches her back to an extreme bend, the projectile missing its mark, only parting a lock of alabaster hair. She starts tipping backwards, a direct consequence of her evasion, and I can only watch as Roman spins his cane around to hook the lithe pair of legs that are still regaining their balance before pulling with an awesome amount of force. Weiss spins in a complete backflip before landing hard on her back, a shrill scream being released from her lips. _

_Roman is absolutely guffawing at this point, his insane mind enjoying the mindless carnage as he lifts up his boot, stomping on the girl's pretty face over and over. He then viciously kicks her ribs, causing a visible spray of blood to fly in the air from her mouth. He grabs hold of Weiss' now crimson garments, lifting her in the air, the heiress' head lolling on her chest._

"_Well, princess, you appear to have been beaten. So, let's give the other's a little show shall we?"_

* * *

><p>I awaken suddenly once again, a result of more waterboarding. I shiver uncontrollably at what I had just seen before the sight is shoved in my face again.<p>

Weiss is even worse than when I last saw her; her face is almost unrecognizable due to the sheer amount of gashes and lumps that Roman undoubtedly had inflicted. What is scarier to me is the fact that there are obvious grasp marks all over her previously perfect skin and her clothes are destroyed; her threadbare undergarments being the only items keeping her semi decent. I can only imagine what happened to her in this horrible place.

Worst of all, her eyes had no fire. The Weiss I knew would just fight and fight until she won the war, but this was not her. This was merely an empty shell. Weiss Shnee, owner of one of the strongest psyches and with the strongest will of everyone I know, had been broken; eyes glazed over, cold and unseeing in their despair. If they could do this to her then how would I survive.

"You probably know what's happening." Cinder circled Weiss' prostrate body.

That witch. She looks up at me abruptly, as if she had heard my thoughts.

"We have to make money some way. Ransom, among other things, is a great way to fill our coffers." She approaches me, running a finger along my jawline as she bends over to look me in the eye.

I growl in anger before hacking a coagulated blood clot in her face. She jumps back in anger, spitting venom at me as she wiped the gore off of her face. With a final glare, she snaps her fingers, signaling to Roman to approach.

His face enters the light and I can't help but gasp at the terrifying sight in front of me. The man's face is covered in burns and much of his hair seems to be shorter than usual. But around his mouth is an injury of the most unsettling kind. On his left cheek is a massive red scar, stretching from his chin to his cheekbone and showing a slight view into his mouth.

He starts chuckling at my reaction, quickly turning into and uncontrollable howl. He literally could not stop laughing, an expression of pain on his destroyed face as he bent over in spasms. I knew he was insane before but now he's completely psychotic.

There was a sharp snap from Cinder's direction, immediately causing the criminal to stop laughing and look submissively towards the Crimson Witch before resuming his advance with his cane held threateningly in front of him.

I know what's in store for me and the only thing I can do now is try and return fire as much as I can. When he gets close enough to me I throw my body forwards and reach my neck out. I just barely have enough reach but I do it. I kiss Roman Torchwick on the cheek. Disgusting. But he is crazy enough that I believe this could work and throw him farther off the rails, if it's possible.

He immediately stops moving, a stunned expression the only thing he seems to be showing. And then he yowls once more, this time in anger, trying to form competent words. I know what happened to him; it's coming back to me. So I laugh in his face.

"What happened, Mister Roman?" I say in a falsely innocent voice, "Did a cat get your tongue?"

I laugh even harder, even when he violently smashes a button on the wall causing my chair to fold into the wall, pulling me with it against the hard concrete. I keep laughing, even as Melodic Cudgel smashes into my head, bringing back the dark.

* * *

><p><em>Roman stands above my sister, her plan to save Weiss having been foiled by the man. He's chuckling once more.<em>

"_What a surprise; you kids are just not getting it!" He was swinging his cane to and fro as he paced around Ruby's fallen figure._

"_No!" I yell out, surprising even me, "You don't get it; you can't win, you won't. It's just not right. It's not right…" I break down into sobbing. "You can't hurt her; I'll do anything, anything at all."_

"_You'll do something all right." He grins sadistically, "You'll watch."_

"_Nooo!" I scream over and over, my voice deteriorating each time I scream it while he raises his cane as if golfing._

"_FORE!" There's a sickening crunch as the cane connects with her small skull. I stop screaming, I can't breathe; Ruby was the only one left._

"_Well then. Everything appears to be in order, so I'll just be taking what I'm owed and leave." He bowed sarcastically in my direction before righting himself. "And that means you're all coming with me-graaah!"_

_I heard a gunshot just then before Roman stopped. Looking at him, I see a familiar kusarigama fly away from his face, back to its owner. Blake's not dead. Roman seems to be choking for a second before a small pink lump of flesh is coughed out of his mouth along with a stream of thick, dark liquid. _

_Another gunshot sounds, signaling the return of Gambol Shroud. Roman's head snaps to the side, staring directly at the black blade flying at his head, panic etched on his face. Less than a second before impact a sudden burst of flame blinds me. I wrench my tired eyes open to see Gambol Shroud impaled on the ground, a beautiful woman in a red dress appearing from behind Roman. Cinder Fall had joined the battle. _

_My eyes, they can't stay open. I just want to sleep. My eyelids are closing. No. I have to stay awake._

_Cinder's grabbing Blake's ribbon from her fallen weapon, I see her give a ferocious tug, Blake's beaten body dragged from her resting place on her White Fang buddy's chest ,screaming as she was pulled across the coarse ground to arrive in front of Roman._

_The girl's head rises slightly; looking down the barrel of Roman's now raised cane before a point blank explosion sends viscera flying across my field of vision._

_Something lands next to me with a wet slap. Turning my head ever so painfully, I see a pale forearm, absent from its rightful spot on Blake's right shoulder and still wrapped in a black ribbon, lying next to me. _

"_B-Blake… no, NO!" I sob; there is nothing I can do to stop it._

_My world is ending._

_The eerie tinkling of glass slippers on the abrasive ground beside me predicts my damnation._

"_Well," I can see a shadow leaning over me, "what do we have here?"_

_Fingers scrape on the back of my neck, reaching around to my collarbone before twisting me forcefully onto my back. The fingers caress my face softly, causing a surge of pure, unadulterated fear to jolt through my body._

* * *

><p><strong>There you go; an M rated fic by me. I surprised myself while I was writing this. When I first had the idea I wasn't going to have any backstory for how everyone got captured andor killed. In fact, it was supposed to be rated T and only about 1000 words. **

**I just got caught up in writing it after I had an inspiration to do the flashbacks and it escalated from there. **

**In the original idea, Yang was supposed to be the only RWBY member that was there. And now look; I have Blake being gibbed (pardon the Gears of War term), Weiss… well, you should know what I was alluding to unless you somehow still have your innocence (Run while you still can), and little Miss Rubes was driven all the way to the green by Torchwick (Joke! You know? Because he yelled "Fore!"… Dark humor…Dark, dark, golf-y humor). **

**If some of you are wondering about the flashbacks missing parts, that's totally normal; this is only the first part and I am putting in flashbacks whenever related information occurs in the "present" part. **

**Stay tuned, and to all of those who write as well as read…**

**Keep Writing**

**P.S. If anyone thinks they could help with improving the quality of this fic by means of better descriptions, ideas I did not think of, more suitable language, etc, please review and/or PM.**

**Yes, I would mention you in the chapter. Yes, it's kind of exactly like a Beta Reader.**


	2. 2 Cold Coals

Cooling Flames part 2

Cold Coals

**Once again half of the stuff I wrote was not in the original "Script" that I have in my brain. I also must apologize for my tardiness; this chapter was almost ready a week ago but my family went camping… so no wifi. Yay…**

**Thanks to Elf-senpai who noticed me and Darkesper for reviewing. Also,** **shout out to CodyKnight who let me use the name of a certain place in my fic. Go read his story A Harsh Reality; it is amazing. Try and guess what the location and name were.**

**Add cannibalism and sexual themes (No Lemons) to the rating list. **

**The first chapter has been updated.**

Present

_Flashback_

**I do not own RWBY.**

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><p><em>I'm back in the darkness. It holds me, supports me, and caresses me. I twist myself deeper into its midnight folds, a tiny voice at the back of my mind screaming emotions of fear, terror and anger. But the shadows are so nice; my wounds don't sting and I'm safe. I sigh to myself, this is much better than wherever I was.<em>

_Strange… there seems to be a liquid floating around here too. It's faint at first, only a slight dampness on my face. I lick my lips, my dry tongue searching for the cool water I seek. I barely touch the tip of my tongue to the source before it is suddenly smashed in my face. _

_I can't breathe! I thrash, praying and crying out to anyone near me to stop the suffocating wall of fluid._

* * *

><p>My eyes open, waking me from my nightmare of choking water. Only to reveal that my nightmare is true; Cinder Fall is sitting a few meters in front of me atop what I can only call a throne, watching as a faceless peon in black holds a soaked cloth to my mouth.<p>

I try to struggle and somehow gain a breath through the rough rag, but to no avail; the chair I had been in was still folded up in the wall, leaving me dangling by my wrists and ankles with no leverage. This is different than the other times Cinder had me woken up like this where she let me breathe immediately after I awoke.

I push my hips and shoulders against the wall, arch my back, try to chew the cloth, anything to let me breathe. I can feel my face start to turn a shade of crimson while my eyes feel like they're popping out of my head. All the while I can see Cinder changing clothes behind the figure that is seemingly intent on drowning me. Why she would do that _now _of all times I cannot fathom, but she is.

She removes her normal dress with exaggerated slowness until she is clad simply in strangely covering red undergarments. She turns to look at me, I think I see a hint of her venomous grin; my vision is fading. I'm suddenly hit viciously in my gut by the faceless man resulting in a massive intake of breath that couldn't happen, the pungent cloth being vacuumed into my mouth.

I'm bent over as much as I can, being attached to the wall, an unconscious movement due to the pain, before a long-nailed hand jerks my head up by my chin. It's Cinder; I didn't hear her approach due to the roaring in my ears. My lungs are burning so much I can't feel anything else.

The Witch draws closer to me, still wearing nothing but her crimson lingerie before bringing her blood red lips to my intact ear.

"What do you think of me?" She gasps out, mocking me with her suggestive tone, "Am I _breathtaking? Eye poppingly beautiful?_" She laughs, enjoying my pain and helplessness.

I didn't realize before, but my whole body is shaking out of control, my vision darkening further. She's having me smothered right in front of her and there is not a single thing I can do.

Without any warning at all, my muscles finally give. My body abandons the torturous arch it had been yanked into from pain; my arms slacken, lowering me another couple of inches to the ground while my head flops onto my chest.

My sight is almost completely black but I can still see a slight scuffle go on in front of me before the cloth over my mouth is finally removed.

I gulp in air, my lungs and throat causing the most unnerving rasp possible. I can only think of one thing, and that is the fact that I can finally breathe. I hang there gasping for a few more seconds before I bring my head up to see what had happened to grant me life.

I nearly choke with surprise when I see Cinder was my rescuer; one hand holding the cloth, which was rapidly turning to ash, and the other holding the throat of the man who was torturing me.

"What did I tell you?" She purred in a predatory way to the henchman, lips raised slightly, "I want her to stay alive. She is… amusing to say the least."

The woman returns her literal fiery gaze towards me, flames leaking out of her tear ducts. She licks her lips leisurely; doing everything she can to convey her plans to me.

"We wouldn't want you to die, would we blondie?" Cinder asks, returning her voice to its erotic air. "Let's see him punished, Hmm?"

I don't even have time to respond in any way due to my deteriorating reflexes before the man's head erupts like a torch, a tortured death rattle erupting for a mere instant before the witch's fire consumes him.

In the flash of light and the dull glow of burning flesh I momentarily see more figures chained to the wall as I am before a burnt skull is thrust in my face. In some areas the bone is visible, bleached by the sheer amount of heat while in other spots blackened flesh still manages to hold on. The melted red mess of glass and wire on his face leads me to believe it was one of Junior's mercenaries. There's a popping sound, and a steaming liquid splashes onto my face. When I look up at the head, an eye socket appears to be lacking its charge.

"That's the same thing that occurred to your pretty little orb." Cinder twisted the corpse's head to face her, "But you, unlike this dirt, are very much alive and still plenty alluring. No one would want to kiss this little man now, would they?" a sardonic pout on her face.

She drops the corpse, a wet sound echoing around the chamber, before gliding herself against my side. One of her fingertips, uncomfortably warm, lands on the inside of my knee as she starts to murmur seductively in my ear.

"They wouldn't. That's why I have you here." Her finger starts tracing up the side of my thigh. "I let Roman have his fun, so now it's my turn."

I was shuddering at the touch, I never shudder. Not unless it's… gone. I'll never see that special person again. I quietly start sobbing; mourning everything I lost, not caring that they are starting to break me. I feel Cinder's face draw away slightly even as she grinds her chest and hips on my side.

"Are you hurt, my little sun dragon? Poppet, do you need someone to kiss it better?" Her face descends towards mine, her molten orbs looking me right in my eye as her mouth opens slightly.

I do the only thing I can think of; I head-butt her. Right in her lips my forehead impacts, causing a dribble of blood to leak down, staining her pale skin with cherry coloured spots.

She appears scandalized that I'd done such a thing. The image rekindles what spirit I still have, spirit to fight, to win. For loyal Weiss, dear Blake, Ruby…

I sneer at the witch, a rictus of agony passing momentarily across my face at the use of the tortured muscles.

"Oh dear…" she flips her long hair over her shoulder, "You should not have done that."

Her hand that is not on my thigh reaches out behind her to delicately push a button on the wall. I don't manage to brace myself before the chair folds out of the wall once more, leaving me stunned. A weight suddenly lowers itself slowly onto my lap and I raise my fallen head to see Cinder inches away from my face.

"You might bring out my ugly side." A laugh in the clearest tone imaginable passes through her lips, causing a shiver of disgust at the two faced monster currently astride me.

"You're always ugly." I growl out through gritted teeth, "And I'll do everything I can to take away your satisfaction."

She shoots out a hand to stop me, but my head is already in movement, towards the wall behind me.

The impact is jarring, and its purpose is achieved as the shadows close in around my vision. I manage to let out a single chuckle before I'm gone again.

* * *

><p><em>I'm standing outside the dorm, waiting for the right moment to enter dramatically. The two lovebirds had entered just a couple seconds earlier and man, do I want to get the jump on them.<em>

_I press my ear to the door, just in time to hear a window slam shut before a creak of bedsprings and a sigh. Now's my chance._

_I raise a booted foot before kicking the door open forcefully, my leg extending to be parallel to the floor. It opens with a loud crash, hitting the wall before rebounding back a little. I strut into the room to see Blake all dressed up in a black strapless gown that seemed to reflect the light in some places and capture it in others. Her usual makeup was on along with lipstick and a faint amount of blush while her hair was done up in an elegant knot, strands of loose hair hanging down over the sides of her face._

_I whistle slowly, a great way to get the attention of anyone I believe, causing the raven haired girl to snap her head up in surprise._

"_I'm sorry Yang, I didn't notice you there." She smiles ruefully._

_Blake is usually a little antisocial but she's never unhappy, leading to think that something must have happened. Why else would she have missed my dramatic entrance? I lean against the side of the bunk bed, causing the books holding up the upper bed to creak slightly._

"_So, how'd your date with Sun go?" I inquire. I know that I can cheer her up if I know what's wrong, so I go straight to the point._

_She looks warily at the books holding up her bed before responding._

"_It went… well, I suppose," She said carefully, "He took me dancing before we went to dinner at _The Burning Desire. _Good food and service, I must say…" she trails off._

_I can't believe it; my jaw must be mere inches off the ground after hearing _that_._

"_You," I say, pointing at her, "went to the restaurant that is solely for couples or people who really_, really _want to piss off a parent or sibling, with Sun?"_

_She nods, the blush on her face being overpowered by the shade of red she's becoming. I break out laughing; this is absolutely amazing. _

"_I c-can't be-believe it!" I manage to choke out, "I'm going to have so much fun teasing you and the monkey boy!"_

_I have to stop talking now to catch my breath. Man this is great._

_She clears her throat, her ears flicking forwards and launching off the concealing bow. Once her blush is gone, she readjusts her dress, ruffling the fabric._

"_Nothing happened, Yang." She pulls up her dress slightly, "They offered to give us a private back room and Sun declined before I could. I then decided to broach…" she takes in a stabilizing breath, "the_ _subject."_

"_Aaaand?" I squeeze out nervously. No joking now; this is an actual important issue. 'cause it concerns me._

"_It turns out that he was going to bring up something similar. He's also dating another girl to try and find out what to do. He said something about Optimus Primate as well. I have no idea what he meant by that."_

"_So he's totally fine with you being bi and all?" I'm going to be surprised if she says yes, which means I don't get to go kick some butt._

"_He was… surprised…" She sees the look in my eye, adding more in quickly, "But he didn't take it badly! As I said, he was in a similar situation."_

_Now, I know Blake. I also know what way I want her relationships to go. I can, as a result, manipulate her. I hunch my shoulders and let my head lower, creating the impression of being depressed. I look up sneakily, sighing deeply. She falls for it immediately._

"_Yang, what's wrong" She asks, her voice changing to a caring coo as she slides closer to me._

"_It's just that…" I breathe in shakily, this is where I win or lose in my gamble, "Sometimes I get a little jealous. You know… how you can go out with Sun and have no strange stares, but with me you get called all sorts of trash."_

"_Yang, Yang, Yang…" She laughs, a pure sound escaping her smooth lips._

"_I care very deeply for you too. I don't mind if other mindless people call me meaningless things. Say what," an arm reaches out to cup my cheek, "I had my date with Sun, so now I'll give a little attention to you."_

_Booyah; plan get Blake to pay attention to me is a success._

"_How about we start the night with a bang?" I grin as befitting someone about to get the girl._

_Blake smiles back before responding, "I would rather start it with a _Yang_."_

_I'm shell-shocked at her stealing my pun and using it against me._

_The black-haired beauty rises, her right arm still on my cheek, the other now around my waist. Her face approaches mine and I pucker up accordingly, only to jolt in surprise when her mouth instead goes to my ear._

"_You have an advantage over Sun though." She murmurs seductively, "You live with me."_

_She gently begins moving her face over towards my lips, her breath warm on my skin. We are only centimetres apart and I have already started undoing the back of Blake's dress when a most obnoxious sound echoes around the room. It is the sound of a certain cat Faunus saying "Meow" looped over and over, and is being emitted from my scroll._

_My head suddenly falls forward, landing on Blake's shoulder when her supporting hands fly to her face, covering up the embarrassment of the day I recorded that. We just stay like that for a second, the mood ruined with a repeated "meow" continuing in the background._

"_Well…" I grin half-heartedly, trying to stay on the bright side, "It could be worse; the ice princess or Rubes could be here."_

_The dorm door opens with a faint creak, the sound of footsteps following. Dammit. I jinxed it._

"_Yang! Blake! Ozpin wants to see us in the mission…" Ruby pokes her childish face around the side of the door before staring open mouthed for a full second, taking in the view of me holding Blake's dress up while my scroll's alarm remains in the background._

_Her face changed colour to imitate her namesake until she vanished in a flurry of rose petals screaming "Ewww!" at the top of her lungs. _

"_Well, that could have gone worse… Right?" I smile meekly, lifting my head off of Blake's shoulder to look her in the eye._

"_Ahem" Our heads snap to the left at the same time. We are so in sync…_

_Weiss clears her throat again, bringing me back from my split second lapse of thought. She turns her head, nearly unnoticeable, taking in the alarm, the fact that Blake's on my bed, and the other fact that I'm holding up the only thing keeping Blake decent._

"_I take it that this is a bad time?"_

_I open my mouth to reply, I can see Blake doing the same from the corner of my eye, before we get interrupted._

"_Ah, bup bup bub! I don't care about this, what you were going to do and whatnot, but we got an urgent mission from professor Ozpin."_

_I open my mouth again, only to quickly shut up at the burning glare of death sent my way._

"_It is optional, but this _is _a graded mission…" Weiss sucks in a quick breath, "and it's about taking down Cinder Fall. You two can go… Frick frack, later._

_A silent moment passes, during which I rapidly redo Blake's dress up. _

"_We're going, end of story. Cinder falls today. Get it? Cinder _Fall?_"_

* * *

><p>Pain. Indescribable, pure, pain. Shadows dance across my vision as my chin rests on my collarbone. I'm still wearing the same shirt and shorts as I was when I left on the mission, but now they are ripped and are doing a poor job of keeping me decent.<p>

And then I feel where the pain is coming from. My chest, from what I can see, is etched with thin, red burn lines. My stomach heaves, trying to force out anything I may have ingested. I can feel the same traced lines along my legs and… up. I left myself at the mercy of Cinder fall just to spite her.

I spit a small amount of liquid to the side. I guess I haven't eaten anything.

"If you want food then you should behave yourself better." My head snaps up at the sound and I cringe as the shadows threaten to return. The witch is back, carrying what seems to be a tray and wearing a maid suit. I manage a single laugh before a racking cough forces my head back down.

"Or," a finger lifts up my chin, "You could just beg."

"Not a chance, bitc…"

A spoon is forced into my mouth and my cursing devolves into a moan of pleasure. Food, a meat stew I think. I swallow quickly, barely bothering to chew in my starved state. A spoonful of dripping meat is put up to my lips. I lurch forwards in an attempt to get more; my mind has gone blank at the thought and sight of food. My bite closes on nothing though. The food has been moved outside of my reach.

Cinder leans in, taking great care to keep the meat away from me, murmuring again.

"Go on: Beg. I'm sure no one would blame you, seeing as you have had no food for two and a half weeks. Don't look so surprised: you've had traumatic stress and a few concussions." A small giggle, "By all rights you should have been dead."

I can't resist getting food. Pride be damned, it's not like I have any left anyway.

"Can I have food?" The question is raspy and barely noticeable.

"Excuse me? I didn't hear."

"Can I have the food?" louder this time, shaking causing my voice to sound a little like Ruby's… Ruby.

"I didn't hear the magic word." Cinder declares. Her face is now a good three feet away from me, sadistic smile visible.

"Give me the meat you cun…"

The spoon is forced into my mouth again and my words once more become mindless babble.

"A feisty one here." Cinder purred, "I could always have Roman come in if you do want it. But he likes someone else better…"

A shrill scream pierces my eardrums and causes another wave of pain.

"Speak of the devil… Or Snow Angel in this case." She shrugs, causing a little bit of juice to drip from the bowl of stew.

The screams continue, echoing to my cell or room in regular intervals.

"A torch is a great way to melt ice, don't you agree?"

I don't even answer; the horrible thoughts of what are happening to my teammates can't affect me as I feel my spirit begin to break.

The only thing I can do is open my mouth, requesting food.

"Aww, you like it? Let me show you how I made it." Cinder walked over to my left, her body illuminating a previously unseen table upon which she placed the tray.

She walked off into the darkness, only stopping when I could only see her glass shoes in the light from the single lamp above me. A light like a firework suddenly goes off and another lamp, similar to mine, turns on. I stare uncomprehendingly at the sight before me.

Cinder is holding Gambol Shroud and is stood next to a solid, bloodstained wood platform in the form of a hospital bed. The figure in the bed is only restrained by a metal collar, belt and a single cuff on their left arm. The person's legs are covered by a brown, stained sheet.

My eyes trail up the captive's body bit by bit. Their right arm is a burned stump, and black burn marks stretch all the way across the chest. It is a decidedly female chest. Despite the lack of a shirt I can't say that she is indecent as there is nothing there; her chest was burned away, leaving only charred flesh.

When I see their face my heart breaks. The right side of their head is scorched away, no hair, eyes or distinguishing feature. But the left side… the left side is all I had to see.

Pale unblemished skin, a single golden eye, and two ears, one cat and one human, both missing the other in their pair.

"Blake." I say it out loud.

Cinder does not speak. She suddenly wrenches the sheet off of my soul mate's legs revealing a sight that would have rendered any sane being sick. I do think I'm insane now.

Blake's legs are missing chunks from them; uneven lumps of flesh absent from her calves. I can clearly see that Blake is wearing her shorts, ripped and ragged. I don't know how I feel about that.

Blake's eye is staring into mine; trying to convey feelings or measure my sanity I can't tell. I remember what happened that night we took the mission and I laugh, a small giggle that bubbles uncontrollably from me. Her eye falls and even I can tell she's disappointed.

"Well," Cinder interrupts the silent reunion, "I promised to show you how I made it, so here it is."

She raises Gambol Shroud quickly before slamming it down into the wooden table. A piece of meat from Blake's thigh is separated from her body, I can see her trying to scream but only a wet gurgle is emitted from her ragged mouth. The wound doesn't even bleed much, her blood is thick as syrup, dripping in a line down her leg slowly.

My face, body and mind don't react. Hmm… yes. I do believe I'm insane.

Cinder leaves the cleaver blade stuck in the wood and picks the tray back up. Her maid costume has a little splatter of blood on it. I find that amusing.

"Do you want any more food, Miss Xiao Long?" the witch speaks in a falsely innocent tone.

I nod. A simple and to-the-point answer.

She puts the tray up to my face and I shove my head into the bowl of stew. I flick my eye up, noticing Blake lower her head once more and begin to sob. The bowl is suddenly gone and juice drips down my chin to splatter my upper chest.

Cinder is walking away, holding the tray in one hand, slowly disappearing into the shadows and swinging her hips all the while. As soon as she is gone from my view, past Blake who still won't look at me, she calls out once more.

"Your sister took it quite a bit harder than you did. She was retching for at least an hour before Roman shut her up."

My sister… Ruby…RUBY! A single word brings my mind back from the brink.

"Where is she?" I roar, "What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing. But she did want me to give you a message. About how she knows what you took and it's _all_ your fault. I wonder what that means."

Blake's head shoots up, an expression of shock being revealed from her single eye. She knows what it means. I do too.

I quietly begin to sob; it was, _is_, my fault. But now I don't only have to fight for me, or Weiss, or even Blake. Now I'm fighting for my baby sister.

That is what goes through my head as the clicking of glass heels fades off into the distance.

I will win… eventually.

* * *

><p><strong>Fun fact: This story features implied rape, violence, deaths, cannibalism and sexual themes but has not a single full swear or actual kiss. Weird eh? Oh great; my inner Canadian is coming out. Just kidding, I love my country and it's many, mostly untrue, stereotypes.<strong>

**This is ScytheReaper at 3 AM, I will post this when I wake up today.**

**Thanks for reading, and to all you other writers Keep Writing. **


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